I grew up in St. Cloud, MN. A pretty big town, but certainly nothing compared to the metropolises a couple hundred miles south of me. Nothing much happened in St. Cloud, or in my life. I went to school, came home, watched some television, and called it a good day. When I thought of St. Cloud, I thought of a safe place. I never feared my community. The people who lived around me were good people. That's what I had been told for my entire life. There was no reason to be afraid.

I was 4 years old when it happened. I don't remember watching the towers fall repeatedly on the news. I don't remember seeing pictures on the internet. I don't remember reading newspaper articles. I don't remember the people crying. For me, September 11 of 2001 was just another day that I lived and don't even remember.

As I grew up, I heard more and more about it. People were bringing it up on a regular basis. There was a fear that had spread over our country. I didn't know it at the time, but it was a fear that was unifying us. I was far more concerned with my Disney DVDs and my dog. I was being a kid who had no fears, because that's what I was taught to be.

It wasn't until I was 8 years old that I started to really think about 9/11. I still didn't quite know what it was, but apparently, it was a big deal.

I remember sitting in my music class, with my hand in the air. My class was going to be putting on a Veterans Day concert, like we did every year. And every year we learned "You're a Grand Old Flag," "God Bless America," "Yankee Doodle," etc. You know, the standard red, white, and blue songs we sang while wearing Uncle Sam hats. We were singing our 8-year-old hearts out. But then I raised my hand. My teacher called on me, not prepared for what I was about to ask.

I looked at her and innocently asked, "Why is 9/11 a big deal?"

The room stopped for a moment. She tensed up and a tight line replaced her normally chipper smile, but then she moved on with class.

Nobody ever answered my question. I was just a silly child. My mind should be focused on reading "Magic Tree House" books and playing outside. I don't need to know about 9/11 just yet. I need to believe it's important and a big deal, but I shouldn't know why. I'm not old enough, and it's none of my business.

I never understood why 9/11 was a big deal. Nobody told me. Nothing made sense to me. People die every day. Buildings are burnt to the ground every night. Why is this day such a big deal? What makes this day so different?

I had to answer this question for myself. But it wasn't through extensive research. It wasn't through intense interviews with eye-witnesses. It wasn't through hours of turning the event over and over in my head.

Right after my junior year in high school, I was selected to attend a camp sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, called Girls State. This was when I finally started to understand why being an American is a big deal. Why honoring the flag is a big deal. Why showing patriotism is a big deal. Why fighting to stay free is a big deal. Why 9/11 is a big deal. I had dozens of incredibly strong women telling me why it is a privilege to be in America. Go ahead and cue the Bald Eagle perched upon George Washington's arm while George is holding an American flag in his mouth as he crosses that Delaware with fireworks being set off behind him, because here we go.

America is pretty dang fantastic, if you ask me. Well, if you ask a lot of people. You're going to have many people who disagree with me, and that's fine, because their right to say whatever they want was given to them by the first amendment of our great Constitution. In America, we get to speak so that the whole world can hear us. We get to build upon land that we ourselves own. We get to marry whoever the hell we want to marry. We get to choose who represents us in this world. In America, we get a lot of free stuff that isn't truly free. Many of us know that. We may not acknowledge that or appreciate that, but it's a fact. You're a special kind of someone if you live in America, because not everybody gets to live here. You may not think much of it, and that's okay. I never did either.

So... Why IS 9/11 a big deal? I don't think it's the hundreds of deaths of women, men, and children. I don't think it's the crumbling of the World Trade Center. I don't think it's the threat of terror against our country. No. It's all of that, plus more. It's the attack on our country. On our freedom. On our pride. On our dignity. On our safety.

Any country in the world could have been attacked that day. Unfortunately, it was us. To this day, people still fight the hate and the tears and the pain that come from 9/11. That's why we should care. People are hurting. We may not be hurting, but other people are. It should be a big deal to us if it's a big deal to our country. Even if it's a big deal to just one person.